The Stride - Poem by Subhash Mukhopadhyay

Standing on one leg, arms reaching uphair piled high in unkempt yogi knotsa tree peers downand the more he sees the more he is amazed.

The woman who goes door to door baby on her hipwashing dishesand at nightsleeps on a mat under a treethe woman discarded by her husbanddisdained even by death.

Oh how shameful!She’s pregnant again.

At the water tap to cover up that shamehe toddles up carefullyto hand his mother the tattered saria tiny life crowned by shamewhy, just the other dayhe used to crawl on the pavement!

Which meansOn this earthone more pair of eyesone more head held higharms like the wings of a birdswinging on either sidewill stride throughfeet firmly on the groundStanding on one legforever in the same spotthe tree with arms outstretched and hair in yogi knotspeers downand the more he sees the more he is amazed